For a team nicknamed the Black Stars, Ghana have certainly produced the brightest note for Africa at the World Cup finals.
The sole survivors of the five challengers from the continent, the debutants have finally confirmed the talent that has been seen in many of their youth teams down the years but never been replicated on the world stage.
Victories over Euro 2004 semifinalists the Czech Republic and 2002 quarterfinalists the United States have set up a mouth-watering last-16 clash with five-time champions Brazil — no better test of a country’s footballing excellence than that.
And the Brazilians will be well advised to wear extra-thick shin pads given the comments of Ghana’s Serbian coach Ratomir Dujkovic.
”Yes, they will suffer,” said the shrewd 60-year-old, whose previous international footballing highlight was taking Rwanda to the 2004 African Nations Cup finals.
”Any team who will face the Black Stars will have to suffer. You have seen the determination in the performance of the Black Stars,” added Dujkovic, who has also coached Burma, among others.
Sadly, the word ”suffer” could be addressed to the remainder of the African sides and their supporters as one by one, like their regimes in decades gone by, they toppled.
However, both Angola and Côte d’Ivoire could leave the World Cup stage with their heads held high.
Indeed, Angola’s coach Luis Olivieira Goncalves echoed those feelings after his Black Antelopes had exited but with a proud record of two draws with Mexico and Iran and a 1-0 defeat by European giants and former colonial power Portugal.
”We have every reason to be proud. We will leave with our heads held high,” said the 49-year-old, who was the only Africa-born coach of an African side at the tournament.
Frenchman Henri Michel admitted he had had enough of African football after being mercilessly mauled by the Ivorian press.
And it was hard not to feel sorry for the battle-hardened coach as he ended his tenure having guided them to the African Nations Cup final — a penalty shootout defeat by hosts Egypt — and their first World Cup finals.
With a bit of the rub of the green and better refereeing, the Elephants might even have made it through to the second round, but 2-1 defeats to two-time champions Argentina and two-time finalists The Netherlands ended the adventure.
However, Michel and his gallant team got the thumbs-up from the man himself, the head of Fifa, Sepp Blatter.
”The best performance was from Ivory Coast,” said the Swiss. ”This was a strong team and in the game with The Netherlands I would say that in the decisive phase they were not always understood by the referees.”
That was the relatively good side to the African campaign, but the challenge of Tunisia and Togo was risible.
Tunisia should do better with all their experience and money poured into the sport, but even having hired former France coach Roger Lemerre they couldn’t break their record of never reaching the second round.
Togo rubber-stamped the overall impression of African football of chaos and financial promises being broken leading to open warfare among the squad.
Fifa have vowed to take action against the federation, but when coach Otto Pfister is reduced to suing the secretary general of the body that appointed him in the first place for claiming he was an alcoholic, it does little for the image of Africa.
Goncalves, though, believes that while there is work to do, African football is on the upward curve.
”African football is progressing. We know that we can do more than we are doing now and each time we take part in a tournament it shows that we have to improve our infrastructure, our organisation and our training of young players.
”But one day the world will realise Africa has a name to defend and it will defend its reputation,” he said. — Sapa-AFP